It's Good to Believe
by ZuEra
Summary: She was extraordinary, and he was invisible. The last thing he'd meant to do was fall in love. Jackunzel.
1. Chapter 1

_._

_You will never love the way you know._

_You will never love the way you show._

* * *

Chapter 1

It was never too late for a little snowfall. Although it was technically against the "rules" that he was meant to follow, beyond being a fun-loving rule breaker, Jack Frost was alone. Who was to stop him from having a dash of fun every once in a blue moon? The fun was all that he had; he'd long-since given up on anything further from the moon, who had clearly abandoned him. Life wasn't always so lonely, though; Jack had found a good many ways to entertain himself.

Tiny droplets of dew clung to the lush green grass, dampening his feet as he strolled along. The early spring air smelled fresh and felt warm on his skin, but he certainly wouldn't have any of that. A giggle escaped his mouth as he broke into a run, swirling the dewdrops into a frosty glaze behind him.

"It's not Springtime yet," he mumbled to the budding trees around him, knowing good and well that he could create a winter blizzard whenever he might please. Never, though, had he been able to do it. Oh, he was more than capable, but truth be told, he enjoyed the brightly colored flowers and the blue skies. Even as he sent a chill through the branches of the trees, he was careful not to do any harm. The wind at his back, he bounded up the trunk of a particularly large tree, dashing from branch to branch as he gave his icy blessing. Sunlight made its way through the young leaves, casting images of bright diamonds on his skin. He smiled into the light, turning his face up.

Near the very top of the tree - he spotted it then - was a little bird's nest, neatly constructed and hidden quite well from anyone who wasn't exploring the full maze of tree limbs. Unable to resist, he brought himself up just a little higher so that he could peek inside at the nest's contents. As he'd expected, six baby birds sat inside, chirping with hungry mouths.

"Well hey there," he whispered gently, sprawling on his stomach across the branch and propping himself up by his elbows. "I see your coats are coming in; I bet it won't be long before you start flying. I'm a pretty good flyer, myself."

The little birds just kept up with their singing, and without fail he felt a tiny ache in his heart. They were just animals; they'd never talk to him anyway. He knew that there was no reason to be hurt by their ignorance to his presence (he wasn't missing out on much, after all), but he still was. Of course it wasn't just the birds and animals that couldn't see him; it was everyone. Any person that he'd ever come across was unable to see him, hear him, touch him - it was as if he didn't even exist.

Had the mother bird not returned to her nest just then, he may have left in depression. He was fond of the way families interacted, though, and stayed to watch the babies gather around her to be fed.

He spent a good deal of time wandering about villages, sitting in on family-dinners and overhearing stories. Having never been a part of a family, watching their endeavors only deepened his loneliness, and yet - at the same time - it almost made him feel loved. It was for that reason that he would stay.

_ What would it mean to have a family? _he wondered to himself as he rolled off the branch and let the wind carry him to the next tree. He couldn't quite imagine himself in that role. Most creatures in families seemed to start off small, but for as long as he could remember he'd been about this size. He wouldn't know how to love them either; he couldn't recall ever loving anyone and had no idea what that might feel like.

He supposed that he would just have to make due with the wind as his comfort and his icy abilities as his playmates. The wind seemed to agree as it flew him up higher, causing him to laugh and spread out his arms like wings and spin about. He forgot about the rest of the world; he forgot that he was lonely; he forgot that he had no family; he forgot that he was invisible; he forgot that his name was Jack Frost. In that moment, he simply existed - he simply _was_.

His eyes closed contently; he could fall asleep like this, but there was no telling where he might have ended up had he chosen to do so. In fact, he had already drifted quite far. Stretching out his hand, he took hold of a nearby tree-branch and stopped himself, climbing upwards for a better look around: all trees as far North as he could see. He swung around the branch to face the South and was captivated by what he saw.

In a small clearing just a ways from where he was, stood a tall and crooked tower - all by itself. He weighed out his options; he could continue floating about and causing mischief - something he could do anytime and anywhere - or he could go on a real adventure. Hidden towers didn't come along just every day - or even every _year_ in his experience. Decision made; he'd do something a little different today. He leaped from the tall arms of the tree and rode the air South.

* * *

The tower looked even taller up close. Jack stood at its base, staring up to the top and hoping that the crooked structure wouldn't fall on him. Shoving the anxiety aside, he decided that there was no better time than the present to investigate and made his way to the small window above. His body jolted back in fright when he came face-to-face with a girl. Per usual, she wasn't startled at all and maintained her relaxed position on the window pane. Curious about her, Jack moved closer. She had the biggest green eyes that he'd ever seen; they were staring off into the distance, and from what he could tell she was probably daydreaming.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!" called a sing-song voice, spoiling the quiet moment for both Jack and the girl. He looked to the ground in time to experience the chilling feeling of something passing through him. The sensation made him grimace, but he focused his attention to the ground. Hair, he realized as the golden locks settled below.

"Whoa," he said out loud. Never in his life had he seen someone with so much hair. Even more shocking was that the woman on the ground was now grabbing onto the hair and being hoisted up as if by a strong rope. If this wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever seen then he'd be darned. He peered closer to the window, anxious to see what might happen in this very odd situation.

"How are you, darling?" the woman asked, ruffling her dark, curly hair.

The younger girl was still gathering her seemingly endless length of hair from the window sill. "Me? I'm-"

"Well, I'll tell you; I'm perfectly _exhausted_, Rapunzel," the woman interrupted. "Won't you come sing to me?"

At this Jack raised an eyebrow; the blonde, Rapunzel, nodded with a smile and replied "yes, Mother" without hesitation. Now with a brush in hand, Rapunzel sat at her mother's feet as the woman stroked her hair. The pair was at such an angle that he could barely see a thing. He considered swooping right through the window, but decided against it; he'd never done such a thing before.

And then Rapunzel began to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine." Jack's eyes widened at the sight before him. Bright golden light illuminated the small tower room, sprouting out of Rapunzel's hair and cradling in her mother's gentle hands. "Heal what has been hurt. Change the fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

Completely dumbfounded, Jack slipped into the tower; maybe he could just stay for a moment. He hopped up to a beam on the ceiling and made himself comfortable.

The older woman sighed happily. "I'm feeling much better already. Thank you so much, darling; your voice is so soothing."

"Um - Mother, I was just wondering-"

"No time, Sweetheart," the mother interrupted Rapunzel once again. "I've got so much to do aside from listening to your frivolous mumbling; we agreed that you'd work on that, didn't we? No matter, dear, I must be leaving!"

Rapunzel frowned, nevertheless allowing her mother to go along situating her hair into a harness again. "But, Mother-"

"You're beautiful, darling. I love you!"

"I love you more," the girl said weakly out the window, the emptiness in her voice catching Jack's attention. He crossed his legs and leaned his elbows on them, watching curiously.

"I love you most," the mother's voice rang back through the air, muffled through the stone walls. Rapunzel didn't react, and stood still for a few solid moments. In quiet suspense, Jack leaned forward. He was unsure what he was waiting for; after all, what was she to do now that nobody else was here? Did he expect some loud display or exciting conclusion? Rapunzel only let out a shallow sigh, but Jack realized that it was precisely what he had been waiting for. Somehow, in the back of his mind he had known as soon as he'd seen her, and he grew increasingly sure as he watched the way she lived. Yet he had wanted proof, and that single, barely-audible sigh had been just that. Now he was absolutely sure.

This poor girl was all alone, just like him.

* * *

**Thank you for reading (: I hope to make chapters longer than this in the future, but I had to begin somewhere so this is just how it ended up. By the way, the lyrics at the top come from Katie Costello's "I Can't Fix Us Two".**

**Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story or the movies that they come from. Neither do I own "I Can't Fix Us Two" by Katie Costello.  
****While we're giving credit, if you can see the beautiful cover art for this story, it belongs to Milady666, who so graciously granted me permission to use it. **

**Please review! I love to hear peoples' thoughts (: **

**~ZuEra**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The local markets were always full of beautiful sounds and smells. This was how a day in the life of Jack Frost would typically begin. Although the winter spirit craved adventure and fun, it seemed as though his life was the same day in and day out; a routine that was impossible to escape. The towns he visited were almost always pleasant, though, and he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the inhabitants. This town, in particular, was growing rather familiar to him; he had been here on more than one occasion. As often as he could, Jack liked to venture out to new cities just for the sake of exploring, but he'd felt exhausted this morning and had already been near by. Adventure took far too much effort when he'd hardly slept a wink.

It was nearly impossible for him to pinpoint his favorite thing about going into town. The conversations that people carried were so entertaining; he wondered if he would argue about the same silly things that they did had he anyone to talk to. Some of the things they said were also interesting and fascinating. It seemed that there was always something new to be learned about the world. Sometimes, although they never realized it, the people acknowledged him.

"John Clancy was in the woods just yesterday. You know he says he saw snow on the ground?" one of the humans said, stopping Jack in his tracks. Keeping a fair distance from the pair of men, he leaned on a wine barrel to listen in.

"Well, John's a crazy old kook," the other replied, "but I've heard it from a lot of people. Don't you think it's a little late in the year for snow?"

Jack grinned, satisfied that someone had noticed his work. "That was me!" he cheered as if the men were listening. "I did that!"

"The darn stuff's likely to put off any crops this year."

At this Jack frowned. "Well no one asked for your opinion anyway."

What might they think if he summoned a heavy snowfall right this second? He often considered doing such things to those who scorned his work, but rarely gave into the urge. Although he hadn't heard a peep from the moon in seven years now, he still felt the heavy gaze as it watched his every move. Perhaps, though, the moon wouldn't object to a simply chilly wind. Willing to take whatever punishment the moon might give, Jack sent a strong gust at the two men, causing them both to jump at the cold. No harm had been done; it was all in fun to him.

"Mama, did you hear that?" a small boy asked, tugging on his mother's skirt. "There's snow! Can I go play in it?"

The young ones always appreciated Jack's talents; they made it all seem worth while to him. They'd run around and play for hours until their lips turned blue and their tiny noses were red like cherries. Even as they shook and shivered from the cold, their mothers had to drag them inside to warm up.

"I wouldn't dream of letting you do such a thing, Bartholomew; you just got over your last cold," his mother said sharply. "Besides, you know that we always have special family time on Saturdays."

Jack's smile slowly faded, while the young boy's only grew.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed. "What are we doing tonight?"

"A good deal of fun things, I'm sure," the mother replied, waving him to come along with her. Filled with excitement, the boy ran to catch up, grabbing her hand as they passed through him. Jack felt nauseous. The narrow, stone-paved street suddenly seemed bigger, fuller, and he felt smaller. The most difficult part about going into town was realizing that all of the wonderful things he saw would continue on whether he was there or not. While the people and children had meaning to him and brought him joy, he was nothing to them-completely insignificant.

* * *

"I should know better by now," he mumbled to himself. This, of course, was a near-daily occurrence. Civilization - people in general - were roses to him; so beautiful to look at, but with painful side-effects when he got too close. Clearly he'd overstayed his welcome today' it was all dumb luck, really - hearing those conversations. Even so, it felt like a personal jab at him, like the universe wanted to remind him that he was invisible, unappreciated and alone. With impeccable timing, the wind ruffled through the trees as if to agree that all of those things were true. "Some friend you are."

The wind only blew harder, nearly knocking him off of his branch and sparking more frustration. "What are you trying to do here, anyway? It's like you want me to go…" he trailed off then, noticing the wind's direction: South. Now he knew that it was foolish to talk to the wind as if it had a mind of its own, but sometimes he truly did question the matter. If the wind hadn't any thoughts, then it would be his own fault for considering returning to that tower right now. "Oh, you want me to go back there? Not happening."

Without cease, the wind continued to blow. It cared not what he thought; it had already made its choice, and South it was. Well, Jack wasn't going to have it. Going back to that place wasn't on his agenda. He didn't need consistency - he didn't _want _consistency. With his particular lifestyle, it would only bring pain. "Would you quit it? You know, it'd be easier if you were on my side, but I can fly either way."

The South wind stung against his face, but Jack was just as stubborn. He wasn't about to let his actions be dictated for him. The last thing that he needed was to go back to that peculiar tower and its peculiar inhabitants. Instead, he would go North - maybe discover some new places and things. There was a whole world out there to be explored; he hadn't the time to hang around in one place. Oh, but the wind was strong. Even as he defied it, he unknowingly lost. The strong currents flipped and turned him, and when he took hold of a tree limb to look around - feeling clever for outsmarting the wind - he found himself in perfect view of the tower.

"Now how did you manage that?" Jack asked, half-grinning at his whistling friend as he noticed that his proximity was even closer than before. "I told you, I'm not going back."

Now he truly wasn't sure if it was the wind or his own mind questioning why, if he was so intent on not going back, he hadn't left yet. It was honestly a good question. Seconds passed, and then minutes without him moving an inch. So what was he to do? Although running away from this place would save him a lot of pain, deep down he _wanted_ to go back. He was curious; a girl with glowing hair hair was far more interesting than any new town. There was no harm in a little entertainment.

Chuckling to himself, Jack looked up. "Alright, you win."

He bounded from the tree to the soft, green grass just below the tower. Leaning steadily against his trusty staff, Jack looked up. He hoped that he wasn't making a huge mistake by doing this. Out of all the humans that he'd come across, he'd never dared to enter their homes and hadn't even considered returning just for the sake of seeing them again. It was too late to question anything, though; he'd made his decision. With all of his doubts behind him, he flew up to the window and peered inside.

"Just a quick visit," he mumbled to himself as he scanned the room for the long-haired Rapunzel.

"Don't think I don't see you there," came a voice from nowhere. Rapunzel popped up like a daisy into the window sill. "Are you always going to hide here?"

"What?" he gasped, backing away in disbelief. Could she really see him? But how…? He inched closer to her. "How is that even-"

"Found you!" she sang playfully, leaning around the corner and picking up a small creature between her fingers. "You're a chameleon, you're way smaller than me, and you don't have all this hair to hide. One might think you'd win a little more often, Pascal."

Jack's brows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, are you talking to the lizard?"

She turned her back on him, disappearing into the tower once again. Feeling only a bit let down - and quite foolish - Jack followed her in, perching once again on one of the many beams in the ceiling. From what he could gather, her mother wasn't here. He didn't mind that one bit, though; he wasn't sure how he felt about her. Rapunzel, on the other hand, was quite amusing. She fluttered about all day, chit-chatting with her lizard friend, Pascal, and finding clever ways to entertain herself. In a way, he was reminded of himself. She continued for a bit with her games of hide and seek, but after four more victories she called it off. With Pascal sitting loyally on her shoulder, she walked to a shelf of books. It was an effort for him to see what exactly she was doing as she swiped a few books and carried them to a cushy chair. She opened one of the books and sank into her seat, but as she did so he felt more than he was watching her sink into the story. She didn't fidget - not even a bit. It was as if she was no longer in the outside world. It was fascinating; Jack wondered what could possibly be so interesting that it commanded her attention in that way. He'd never really looked at a book before; maybe if he just saw what was inside he would understand. Maybe he'd love it as much as Rapunzel did. Moving from the ceiling beam for the first time, he lowered himself to the ground, tiptoeing across the stone floors that were as cold as his own feet. He didn't know why he was sneaking like this; it just felt so intrusive to be walking around where he wasn't welcome.

He found the perfect view of the pages when he knelt down at the side of the chair. Seeing them, though, he became confused; he had no idea what they said. He'd never learned to read - he'd never been taught - but somehow he thought that it might just come to him. No, he had absolutely no clue what any of the funny looking symbols meant. He may have returned to his comfortable place above in disappointment had he not caught an up-close glimpse of Rapunzel's face. Although he was aware of her beauty, it was the way that her face was so invested in the book that he was truly caught up in. It almost told the story on its own. She was so expressive - so animated with her emotions. Rather than focusing on what the story was about, he focused on her mannerisms as she read - the way that her brow would furrow when something bad happened; the way that her nose crinkled ever-so-slightly from time to time; the way that at some points her mouth would stretch into a lovely smile. She probably wasn't aware of it at all, and if he hadn't been there, nobody else would have been either.

He'd been here for a fair amount of time now and so far hadn't seen any glowing hair. That was his reason for returning, wasn't it? Because it was honestly the most mind-blowing thing that he'd ever seen? That, of course, wasn't to discredit the incredible _length_ of her locks. That was an entirely different kind of impressive. In everything that she did, she skillfully managed to work around it all. He could learn a thing or two from her and put it to use during his visits to town as he attempted to dodge people (to no avail).

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Speaking of the glowing hair, he had a feeling that he might be seeing that very soon. If he remembered correctly, it was the mother who initiated whatever it was that the hair did yesterday.

"I brought home lunch, dear," the mother said as she climbed in. She handed a small basket to Rapunzel, who took it as eagerly as she had jumped out of her chair to throw her hair out the window. The two sit down at the small table on the far side of the room and begin their meal. Jack had witnessed many a meal shared by families, but he immediately could tell that this was one different because he didn't envy Rapunzel's family dynamic at all. She was constantly being talked over and having her words be completely ignored. Until now, Jack had never met a family that he didn't want to be a part of.

"...and then I had to run _all _the way to the cheese vendor on the opposite side of the market. From all that moving about I'm surprised that I still look so radiant. And what have you been doing today? Did you do your chores, darling?"

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel replied. "I did a little reading too."

"Oh, very good, very good," her mother nodded. "What did you read?"

"I started _The Prince_," she said, and then giggled guiltily. "Again…"

"As I recall, you read that book just last week, didn't you? It must be one of your little favorites. Ah, my Rapunzel is such a reader," the curly haired woman leaned across the table to pinch Rapunzel's cheeks.

"Actually, Mother," Rapunzel mumbled, still laughing quietly, "it's just that I've already read each of the books several-"

"Hm? What's that, dear? I can't hear you properly when you mumble like that."

Jack rolled his eyes. He was ready to pull his hair out, and if Rapunzel felt the same way - well, she would be in for a lot more work than he would. He was tired of this woman after just moments of her presence; he couldn't imagine living with her. Then again, it seemed that she was hardly ever present; she hadn't been in all day.

"Well, darling," the woman wiped her mouth, "I've got more affairs to attend to, but before I go, would you sing to me? I just feel so tired, and it's not good to be running about when you're so drained of energy."

"Of course, Mother," Rapunzel said with a smile, and then went on to mimic yesterday's scene with perfect accuracy. Once again, the tower was lit up by Rapunzel's golden hair. It was mesmerizing to him; in that sense, he could understand why her mother was always asking her to sing - he might do the same if it meant seeing the beautiful illumination as much as he wanted. It seemed, though, that as fast as it had begun, it was over. With the end of the song came the end of the mother's visit - surprise, surprise. Perhaps he'd come back tomorrow and watch a little more closely. He had a hunch that something wasn't quite right.

Alone again, Rapunzel paced the room in silence. A cloud of - only mild - concern washed over Jack, and he watched her carefully to see what might be wrong. The quiet sound of her feet pattering against the floor stopped very suddenly, and her green eyes widened. Jack, fully engaged now, leaned forward hastily as Rapunzel made a mad-dash to a cabinet. She swung the door open and filled her arms with cans of paint.

For the first time, Jack noticed the walls of the tower. "Whoa," he gasped quietly, taking it all in.

Beautiful images sprawled across them, filling the space. He'd never seen anything like it in his life. Sure, he'd seen paintings - portraits or landscapes - but these were different entirely. They had _passion_ and purpose. They were full of life - perhaps the life that Rapunzel felt she couldn't experience here in this tower. It almost seemed as if she was a prisoner here; nobody was around to stop her from leaving, so why didn't she? He was certain she she had seemed lonely when he'd been here yesterday. The loneliness translated into her paintings, but there was also hope in them. With the massive amount of work on the walls, though, he wondered where she might find more room. It seemed, he thought as he watched her walk the walls slowly, that she was wondering the same thing. She paused then, staring up at one particular spot off of the stairway. Nodding to herself, she ran to the window and cast back the curtains. Light spilled across the floors and walls, brightening the room more dramatically than Jack would have expected.

He stood a distance away as she made her first strokes on the wall; although as far as she knew he wasn't there, he still felt that he'd be in the way were he any closer. It was only when he thought back to the time she had spent reading earlier that he realized what an opportunity this was. True, he hadn't been able to understand the story that she was reading before, but here was a story right now - and he didn't need to read in order to watch her tell it. With that in mind, he crept closer, up the stairs, to stand at her back.

Each stroke seemed so delicate, so meaningful. Jack was sure that he would never be able to do anything as brilliant. Before his wide eyes, a slender girl took shape, her hair flowing behind her dramatically as she turned her body towards the bright sun. When Rapunzel paused and walked up the remaining stairs, Jack felt a pang of disappointment; he'd really been enjoying himself. Nevertheless, he followed her, his near-constant curiosity in hand. She didn't go far, entering the first door at the top of the stairs. He took one step in, but immediately backed away. The room was filled with a large bed and a small vanity and not much else. This room must have belonged to her - her exclusively. It wouldn't have felt right for him to enter. Instead, he leaned on the wall outside of the door, waiting patiently for her to come back out. She did so rather quickly, hurrying back to her work-in-progress with a fresh can of paint in her arms. Delighted, Jack took his place to watch her continue working.

When the painting appeared to be finished, Rapunzel sighed and leaned against the railing. She was probably stiff and tired from standing there for so long, he decided. To his surprise, though, she didn't rest for long. She glanced over her shoulder at the long curtain of blonde hair on her back and jumped nimbly down the stairs to the floor. She retrieved the brush that her mother had used earlier, unknowingly telling Jack that he was in for a show. What she did next, however, caught him completely off guard. She stuck the handle of the brush between her teeth and grabbed her hair with both ends, throwing it high into the air. It tumbled over a ceiling beam and swung back towards the ground. Had he not been so quick on his feet, he wouldn't have been able to dodge it. When she began to repeat the process, he realized that it might be beneficial to wait outside; it would be difficult to avoid being ran through be the thick strands of hair otherwise. With her hair in a spindly web, Rapunzel began to brush. He supposed that a system like this was probably necessary, but at the same time it seemed just the opposite. If it was such a struggle to do ordinary things like brushing her hair, why didn't she just cut it? Surely the length of her hair had more purpose than to simply pull her mother up twice a day. There was so much that he just didn't understand.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Jack gasped, looking around to see that the sky was dark. How had this happened? Had a "quick visit" really turned into an all-day event? He'd arrived here before noon; judging by the moon's proud place in the sky, that had been quite a while ago. Still, he felt as if he'd just gotten here and didn't really want to leave. He knew his place, though. Stealing one last glance at Rapunzel as she took her spot at the window, Jack lowered himself until the grass on the ground tickled his toes.

He didn't feel like flying, and he didn't feel like sleeping. In fact, he felt rather strange, so he strolled along on foot. His mind was whirling with thoughts that continually went back to that tower. The situation was perplexing; what was the reason behind this? Why, he couldn't even bring himself to _want_ to stop thinking about everything that had happened today. It had been a good day - far better and more interesting than a typical day would be. And Rapunzel - well, she just seemed so warm and happy, even in her rather lonely situation. It was nice to be around someone like that; it made _him _feel warm and happy.

"Oh please," he scoffed aloud, realizing how silly that was. "I'm Jack Frost; nothing could make me warm."

He laughed at himself, trying to shake the feeling away. He couldn't, though; part of him just kept holding on. Then it occurred to him: why should he try to get rid of something that made him happy? He wasn't sure if he'd felt truly happy - well, ever. Today, he'd had fun; he'd seen new things, and had new experiences. Just for one fleeting moment, he decided to embrace it. Springing up into the air, he let out a hollering laugh, outstretching his arms and closing his eyes. In that split second, though, his mood was interrupted.

A cracking sound could be heard from below, as if someone were walking about. Suspicious as to who might be wandering the woods at this hour, Jack returned to the ground and scanned the direction that the noise had come from. Only a void of black could be seen, but he was certain that he'd heard something. Perturbed, he slowly turned away, taking careful steps forward. Again, the noise taunted him, this time followed by the agonizing moan of the wind. He whirled around, but found that again he had been too slow; there was nothing to be seen. This time, he stood his ground, just daring whatever was there to sound off once again. To his great surprise, the sound repeated itself a third time, sending his hairs up on end; nobody was there. Now Jack had never been the fearful type, and he certainly didn't believe those silly ghost stories that all the children seemed to enjoy, but he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Holding his staff out like a weapon, he walked into the distinct darkness. When he did this, he was overcome with a sudden sense of urgency; he didn't like whatever was going on here at all. The darkness was too dark - he felt more alone and more terrible than usual. Surrendering, he took off into the air. Never had he experienced anything like this before, and he hoped that he would never have to again.

* * *

**Oh! There's that second plot that I really needed! Because of the huge amount of followers this story got, I decided to pull out chapter 2 a little early. I had it written already, but I wanted to keep a somewhat regular schedule. I don't know that every chapter will get updated this quickly :P But I write consistently, so who knows?**

**Thanks so much for reading! I can't wait to share the rest of this story with you all. Reviews are, of course, appreciated! (:**

**~ZuEra**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter, while it may seem insignificant on the surface, really needed to be written. I hope you enjoy (:**

* * *

Chapter 3

If Jack didn't know any better he would have said that the tower was meant to be hidden. Without the wind's assistance, it was nearly impossible to locate the tall structure. He'd awoken quite early this morning, rising before the sun. This was in line with his plan, of course. After last night's events, he'd had to shake away the uneasiness he felt about traveling in the dark; he'd been doing it for years without trouble, so one strange event wasn't going to change a thing. To his relief, there were no odd occurrences this morning as he searched. By the time he'd made it through the maze of a trip to the tower, his greatest fear was not of shadows and noises, but of being too late. Fortunately, he seemed to be right on time.

He'd gone to sleep last night feeling determined to find out more about this mother figure of Rapunzel's. Clearly he would discover nothing of Rapunzel's powers by staying at the tower; he wasn't sure that the girl, herself, knew what exactly was going on. It seemed to him that the mother was the bearer of knowledge when it came to anything in Rapunzel's life.

"Come on, darling," Rapunzel's mother coaxed gently as she led the sleepy girl from her room. "It's time to start your day."

One look at Rapunzel's face, clouded with sleepiness, and her disgruntled hair was enough to bring a soft grin to Jack's face. There was something endearing about the way that she stumbled along at her mother's side, not yet coherent to the things going on around her.

"Hm, you know, Rapunzel. One might almost get the idea that you were awake all night dreaming," her mother went on, causing Rapunzel to giggle in confirmation. "Well, that's just fine as long as you remember that while sleep can be put off, the light of day-"

"Waits for no one," Rapunzel said with a yawn, stretching the sleep away.

Her mother smiled. "That's my girl. Now I've got an entire day's duty ahead of me; I expect that you'll attend to your own responsibilities as well?"

"Yes mother."

Jack scrambled out of Rapunzel's path as she walked to the window, readying her hair for transportation use. Before ducking out the window, her mother ran her fingers through Rapunzel's hair with an unpleasant expression.

"Flower, promise me that you'll brush your hair before you do anything else today. It's absolutely mangled. But take care not to damage it."

"I know, mother," Rapunzel replied with a light smile. "Don't worry."

Jack knew that it was time to go, but he felt hesitant. He didn't want to leave Rapunzel alone here all day long. It was silly, he knew, because she had no idea he even existed. Although he provided her no company or comfort, he still felt as if leaving her behind was a form of abandonment. Of course the knowledge that she was to brush her hair immediately was helpful in convincing him to carry on with his original plans. He hadn't particularly enjoyed that yesterday. Seeing Pascal on her shoulder, Jack knew that she would be just fine and hopped out the window.

The sun was just beginning to peek through the trees, the light and dark contrasting as much as Jack's curiosity and utter disdain for this woman. He kept a short distance, staying only as close as was necessary to keep up with her. At this moment, she didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. She did, however, seem to be going in a different direction than what made sense to him. Rather than heading for the trees, she walked towards a rocky area that appeared to cover any spot vacant of trees. Still, he followed her as she ducked into a small opening. At first the darkness of the cave seemed to bound on forever. His vision quickly settled, though, revealing a dim light not too far off. Although he could no longer see Rapunzel's mother, it seemed only logical that she would move towards the light. Indeed, as he neared the subtle brightness, he could make out her silhouette. What surprised him was that the opening seemed to be covered with vines and hanging mosses. Crossing through, he saw that anyone passing by would have overlooked the cave without thought; it was practically invisible.

She strolled into town as if she belonged there and blended in perfectly with the crowd. In fact, she blended in so well that he nearly lost her a couple of times. He floated above, feeling wise for knowing that he'd be run through by the morning rush should he dare to step on the ground. Things seemed fairly normal at first; she stopped at a few stands and picked up food, tucking it gently into her basket. She stopped very suddenly, though, glancing over her shoulder and huddling close to the building on her right.

Narrowing his eyes, Jack moved closer. "What are you doing?"

Taking a final glance over her shoulder, she grabbed the iron knob and propped the door open. Jack took the opportunity and slipped in, confused by the sight of several men gathered around a table.

"Gothel," one of them said gruffly, nodding in her direction.

_What's a "gothel"?_

"Hello boys," she said, tossing her dark curls and setting her basket on the round table as she sat. "How are we all doing today?"

Each of the men muttered their answers, and the group chatted quietly until a rather large man cleared his throat. He appeared to be the leader of whatever sort of establishment this was. Everyone quieted down and gave him their attention.

He flashed a deck of cards. "I was thinking we'd start with a game of Five Card."

"Draw or Stud?" another asked.

"What?" Jack gasped, hardly able to believe what he was seeing as the cards were passed out around the table. Her mother left for hours at a time to play poker? It was nothing jail-worthy, but it barely seemed worthy of time that should have been spent with her daughter - a sorry excuse for such neglect, and yet, he found himself laughing at the foolishness of his suspicions. He had half-expected her to be involved in something truly shady. The game went on for what felt like an eternity, filled with laughs and greed, until the only woman in the room finally stood up.

"Well, I must be going," she announced, gathering her basket into her arms and heading for the door.

"Gothel," one of them said, and she turned around in response. "I'll get you the money by tomorrow."

Her lips formed a narrow smile, but her eyes were cunning. "Don't hurry yourself."

From the sound of it, this was a regular thing. With all the casual talk of "how are you doing_ today_?" and "I'll get the money to you_ tomorrow_", Jack felt quite certain of it. Perhaps Rapunzel knew about all of this. He had to remind himself that he'd only seen a tiny glimpse of a life that was probably very full; it was silly to pretend that he had any right to care. After all, Rapunzel seemed to be around the age of seventeen, maybe even older; she was, from what he'd seen, intelligent and capable - certainly intelligent enough to be aware of her fate, and capable enough to take control of it without any help from him. He really had nothing to do with her life, or the life of her crooked mother (Gothel, was it?).

Next they visited a small stand in the market run by a woman so wrinkly that she could have been a prune. Aside from her thinning hair and bony fingers, the woman had a lovely smile. However, it was the irony that truly had Jack's attention.

"And this is something that I just concocted last night," the old woman said, holding out a small bottle. "It's guaranteed to make you look four times younger and fresher. Gives you that real nice glow."

"Hmph, well I've got more than enough _glow_," Gothel replied, looking unimpressed. "What else do you have?"

The woman's smile faltered for a split-second, but she quickly recovered it as she ducked down, returning with two more bottles. "This one gets rid of the gray hair, and this one fills in the wrinkles - like they were never even there. I've got another that helps keep the blood flowing to your face for a nice, natural blush."

Gothel drummed her fingers against her chin, contemplating. "Okay, I'll take all three."

Smiling graciously, the woman swiped coins from Gothel's hand, replacing them with the small vials. Without thanks, Gothel turned and walked away.

"Enjoy deary! Enough use and you might look as good as me one day," the elderly woman called with just a hint of sarcasm. At this, Jack laughed, but the feeling of vengeful joy was soon traded for bitterness. So this was truly what Gothel did all day? She played cards and gambled and invested in self-obsessed, youth concoctions - and where did Rapunzel fit into all of this? How someone could take their family for granted in such a way was beyond him. He felt sure that he'd never been more disgusted in his life. However, it only got worse upon their return to the tower, where Gothel talked of how difficult her day had been and how glad she was to have a moment's rest. Without any hesitation or question, Rapunzel bought into it and offered up her voice as a remedy.

This was what Jack had been waiting for all day. Rather than watching from afar, he stationed himself at Gothel's side for better observance. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but he'd have to get past the extraordinary beauty of Rapunzel's hair to see it. Since Gothel was the one he was suspicious of, he thought it best to watch her. As Rapunzel's honey-sweet voice filled the room, Jack studied. He studied hard, with squinted eyes and with his teeth clamped anxiously over his bottom lip. Halfway through the song - just when he was beginning to believe that nothing was going to happen - he caught sight of something: the protruding veins and large pores on Gothel's hands were slowly disappearing, slipping back into the shell of a youthful woman. He turned quickly to her face to see the slightest hints of wrinkles vanishing and soft gray hairs blackening before his eyes. It all made sense. The only thing he hadn't figured out was how Rapunzel got this way; people weren't just born with the power to supply youth and endless life. Then again, people also were not born into invisible, icy creatures as he had been.

"Feel better?" Rapunzel asked, bright-eyed and perfectly content.

Gothel patted her hand warmly. "Much, much better dear. Nothing relaxes me like the soothing sound of your voice."

"And the intense magic of your hair," Jack scoffed, shaking his head at the two. He'd seen enough of this; humans were pretty stupid at times, but this was an entirely new kind of low. Swinging his staff over his shoulder, Jack hopped from the window and retreated to the most comfy-looking tree he could find. He spent quite a while lounging there, unsure of why, exactly, he was pouting like this. Frosty designs covered the tree limb and the surrounding area on the trunk - products of his thoughtless attempts to entertain himself. Pursing his lips, he lay backwards poking his staff up into an above branch, watching as ice broke its way through the crevices in the bark.

"Why would she just let her mother use her that way?" he finally grumbled angrily. For the past hour or so, he'd been sitting here trying to convince himself that he could care less what either of them did with their silly magic and selfish obsessions. Hearing his despair, the wind hummed quietly.

"Because she loves her," he sighed. "Because that's what families do."

It was true; from what he'd seen, families often made sacrifices for each other. Perhaps Rapunzel knew exactly what was going on with her mother and simply didn't mind. With the bit of time he'd spent around her, that wasn't too difficult to believe.

"Well, I wouldn't know; I've never had a family," Jack retaliated, rolling on his side. "Besides, isn't that sort of a two-way street? What's her 'mommy-dearest' doing in return? She's gone all day and only comes home to complain about her treacherous day and get a prettier face. I would have loved to have been able to help, but clearly there's nothing I can do. I'll save myself the agony and just get out of here."

At this the wind howled loudly, stubborn in its demanding persuasion. Frustrated, Jack stood up. "I don't understand what you want me to do; you're no more help than the moon. The girl can't see or hear me; I'm not going to be of any help to her. She's got her little lizard friend that she talks to; it's not like she's completely alone."

The forest was nearly silent then as the wind died down, and Jack suddenly felt very alone. "She's got a friend in the lizard just about as much as I've got a friend in you. And that's not much." He hesitated. "Alright, I'll go back - for whatever reason."

He'd only hopped from one branch to the next when he stopped, looking out into the empty realm of trees. "Do you think it's possible that Gothel really loves her?" Silence was his only reply. "Yeah, I have no idea either."

* * *

There was so much to be done: the sweeping, the dusting, the hair-brushing, the laundry - all of which Rapunzel had been instructed to do this morning. Fortunately her mother hadn't seemed to notice when she came home for lunch. Now, it wasn't at all that Rapunzel dreaded her work; in fact, simply because it gave her something to do she enjoyed it. She'd been distracted as of late, though; the ceiling suddenly seemed more appealing to look at than the unswept floors, and her mind carried her further than any tale in her books could. Although she couldn't put her finger on a reason why, Rapunzel felt restless. The tower walls seemed more cramped than they used to, and the sun outside more bright, and the feelings inside of her heart more lonely. To cure herself of the confining emotions, she'd spent her morning painting and reading, which did - in a sense - help. Still, painting out her desires and reading about adventures that she wished she could have was a bit painful for her, mostly because she knew that they were all fantasies; they would never truly happen.

She'd always been a dreamer, but it was only recently that she started to feel a lack of contentment. As a child she'd never questioned the rules that her mother had; she'd never even considered anything otherwise. She was getting older, though, and beginning to wonder if the wonderful things that she read in her books could ever be true for her. Right now, it felt impossible.

The sound of Pascal knocking over a flower pot reminded Rapunzel who and where she was and told her that things really weren't so bad. Regardless of the things that she wanted, she had everything that she could need: a safe place to stay, a mother who loved her, and a good friend like Pascal. In reality (especially in her circumstances) she couldn't ask for anything more.

She smiled down at her little friend. "Don't worry, we'll get it cleaned up."

Pascal hopped onto her hand when invited and took his place on her shoulder. Knowing that if he hadn't caused a commotion, she may have forgotten her responsibilities altogether, Rapunzel silently thanked him. With her broom in hand, she quickly cleaned up the mess, maneuvering effortlessly around her hair. Sweeping the rest of the tower wasn't nearly as easy; she couldn't figure out how, when the floors were cleaned and swept daily, the room collected so much filth. By the time she'd finished, she was out of breath and craving a long nap.

"Would you hold this steady?" she asked Pascal, pointing to the dustpan on the ground. Obediently, Pascal placed his tiny claws on the pan, keeping it in place as Rapunzel pushed all of the dust inside.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly, seeing that much of the dust had landed on Pascal. Not to be replaced for long, her bright grin quickly returned as she put the broom and dustpan back in their places. "So, the sweeping is done. What should we do now? There's still dusting, laundry, and - what?"

Pascal looked bored. He always seemed to have ideas that conflicted with sworn responsibilities. If Rapunzel didn't complete all of her chores, her mother would be upset. After all of the work that her mother did through the day, that was the last thing that Rapunzel wanted. When it came to family, she was willing to do anything; it wasn't even difficult for her. Yet Pascal continued to urge her to push her boundaries, or at least that was the impression that she'd always gotten. On more than one occasion he'd persuaded her with no success to go outside. Rapunzel chalked it up to the fact that the outside world was his home, and although he spent much of his time here in the tower with her, he just wasn't used to it like she was. When Pascal was in the tower, he felt trapped and just wanted to get back outside. Because he wasn't raised here like Rapunzel, he felt that she would be better off without the walls of the tower keeping her in.

But that simply wasn't true.

Here she was safe. Here she was protected. Her mother always told her how awful the outside world was. Although Rapunzel only needed to hear it once to believe it, many a tale had been illustrated to show her just how horrible people were. She would listen to her mother. Her mother knew what she was talking about.

The wind howled at her window, knocking the shutters loudly against the wall. With a rapid heartbeat, startled by the sound, she closed the window and latched it.

"Windy day," she said to Pascal, and resumed her work. As her thoughts rambled on, she fetched the washtub that always seemed to be filled up for her and began soaking and scrubbing away at clothes. In what seemed like an instant, she had completed all of her work and was brushing out the last bit of her hair. Across the room, Pascal lay asleep on the table. Apparently at some point he'd gotten bored, probably because she'd been working so silently and incoherently. She woke him gently, scooping him into her arms and slowly lowering into the chair by the bookshelf.

"This one has pictures," she said, coaxing him awake as she opened a book in her lap. "If you can stay awake long enough you can look at them."

The two got cozy together and read the rest of the windy day away, completely unaware of the curious soul watching them - and Jack Frost completely unaware of the soul that was lurking about watching him.

* * *

**To be honest, I'm not 100% happy with how this chapter turned out; I really liked the first part, but the second half was a bit of a drag to write, so I'm sorry if it's not quite up to par. Like I said, though, this chapter definitely needed to be written - for a few different reasons: one, I needed Jack to follow Gothel so he could learn her name and stop referring to her as "the mother" all the time -_- Also, I wanted Jack to get an idea for what was really going on in the situation. I considered having Gothel involved in something truly dark and shady, but I decided that (although she's willing to go there), that's not really her thing on a daily schedule. She's all about herself - youth-obsessed, as we saw once again in this chapter - so going out and playing wasteful games all day seemed right up her alley. As you also saw, when Jack learned what Gothel was doing with Rapunzel's powers, he was furious, but then had to address a question that was very unclear even in the move:**

**Does Gothel truly love Rapunzel? It's my opinion that, in some way, she does love her. Unfortunately, she loves herself more. I've tried my best to convey this in the story so far.**

**Last thing! I'm sorry for the delay. I actually had this chapter finished for a few days, but kept forgetting to upload it until late hours of the night when no one would see. It's somewhat late now, but I decided that I couldn't wait any longer.**

**Review with your thoughts! Thanks for reading (:**

**~ZuEra**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was a mere matter of weeks after he came across the tower that he started talking to her. He was aware that she couldn't hear him, and yet it still slipped out. He should have known then that there was no turning back. It had been like any other day as far as he could tell. Rapunzel had just finished all of her chores and was now pacing the floor aimlessly.

"So, what should we do today?" she asked Pascal, who was ever at her side.

"Hmm," Jack hummed, leaping casually to the floor and swinging his staff as he walked thoughtfully. "How about painting? Or you could always read - out loud, preferably."

He wasn't surprised to hear himself talking to her, although he was perplexed by how naturally it had come out. Pausing only briefly, he glanced at Rapunzel and let out a light laugh (which could have been directed towards her or himself; he wasn't sure).

Having not heard his earnest question, Rapunzel shifted her weight to think. "Checkers? Or maybe baking?"

At that, Pascal nodded eagerly.

"Eh, close enough," Jack shrugged, willing to go with whatever choice she made (because what else was he to do?). He hadn't witnessed much cooking from Rapunzel, but that which he had was nothing to complain about. Humans had a way of mixing the simplest of things together and making them smell incredible. Jack had never had much of an appetite; eating had always seemed somewhat pointless seeing as he would live on regardless. Even so, when he passed by bakeries or sweet pies on window sills he got the biggest cravings.

Rapunzel scampered about the tower, searching high and low and muttering to herself as she did so (something that Jack was quite certain would never stop amusing him). "Let's see… Flour, sugar, eggs - do we have eggs?"

"On the bottom shelf," Jack answered, spotting it from across the room as she rummaged through the cabinet.

"Oh! There it is. Mother must have misplaced it on accident. I think I've got a special treat to add, too," she said to Pascal, whose gaze seemed to become more attentive at that. "Just watch."

Jack cringed as Rapunzel composed a tipsy stack of household items and balanced on top of it (going so far as to stand on her tiptoes). Surely the slightest gust of wind could knock it over, ending her quest to reach a high shelf with a quite literal _bang_. Still not tall enough, she dared to lean backwards to grab her hair and swing it up. When he saw her trembling hands he could tell that she was just as unsure about this endeavour as he was. All of that fear seemed to sift through her, however, when a small pot, dragged by her hair, tumbled from the shelf into her hands. Just in time for both of them to sigh in relief, the narrow stack wobbled and shook, and then collapsed beneath her. Jack could only watch in horror Rapunzel tumbled the the ground in a mess of kitchen supplies and hair.

"Rapunzel?" he called weakly and uselessly, having to acknowledge for the first time today that his voice was of no help to her - especially now.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, allowing his breathing to steady just slightly. Her body spoke words contrary to her voice, though. A large, dark bruise was already forming around her ankle. Pascal (Jack blessed his little heart) seemed to notice as well and pointed at the swollen blue area, to which Rapunzel responded guiltily. "Alright, I guess that does look kind of bad - but it's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Jack gasped. "Your skin is _not _supposed to turn that color. Mine? Maybe - but definitely not yours."

"Have you forgotten something…?" Rapunzel smiled down cleverly at Pascal. Without another word, she carefully wrapped her ankle, covering it completely with her golden hair. Perhaps he was completely dense, but Jack hadn't even considered this as an option.

"Wait, so you can heal wounds with-" Rapunzel began to sing. "Well, yeah, I guess that may have been somewhat obvious. Still, you should be more careful!"

Rapunzel's sigh echoed off of the stone floors and walls, scattering the brown powder that had spilled all around her. "I guess I'll have to sweep again. Anyway, Mother brought home this chocolate powder a while ago. Maybe there's still enough here to use."

As it turned out, there was more than enough. The sweet sound of Rapunzel singing combined with the sweet smell of chocolate cake soon filled the tower room.

"Man, Punz, that smells good," Jack said, taking a deep whiff of the aroma. "Care to share?"

She stirred the ingredients as the cooked over the fireplace, humming without care. Although she was completely alone here (as far as she knew) she still got a sneaky smile as she placed the spoon to her mouth and licked of the batter. Clicking her tongue, she paused for a moment, and then nodded in satisfied affirmation.

"Not bad, if I do say so, myself," she admitted, and then left the pan in its place to cook. "And now, we wait."

She seemed just as bored of that idea as Jack was. There had to be something more interesting to do than that. Still, he wondered how Rapunzel could possibly find anything interesting anymore. Being cooped up here all the time, she surely had experienced everything that there was to experience, and everything that she did was a repetition - and he'd thought that his own life was routine; at least he could go out and find new places.

"Actually, I think I'm kind of tired," she said through a yawn. "I think a quick nap is in order."

"Oh, perfect," Jack agreed, "because I think that for me, a quick trip out is in order. If I don't go do something, I'll fall asleep myself."

"Just don't forget to wake me up so I can take the cake out," she told Pascal as she scooped him up and put him on her shoulder.

Jack's eyes widened. "Wait - you can't go to sleep while that thing is baking. Don't leave it on the fire! That's dangerous! Come on - ugh, Pascal! You better wake her up!"

He reminded himself as he crawled through the window that he was putting his trust in a lizard - a clever lizard, yes, but a lizard nonetheless. He'd have to come back and check on her, just for his own peace of mind. If something were to happen, he would feel as if it were his own fault. Right now, though, the smell of fresh air and the sight of a bright blue sky was just too tempting to turn down. Without anymore hesitation, he hopped into the wind's graceful wave and dashed off to find mischief. What he found, rather than a new town, was a pleasant pond that just so happened to be close by. He stuck his toes into the water to find it warm - not that it would stay that way for long. With one large _swoop_ he bounded across the pond, delighted by the sound of crackling ice forming beneath his stride. Turning and flipping and gliding along the way, Jack let out a laughter that rang with freedom. Moments like this were what kept him alive; when the moon again failed to answer him, the wind turned sour and violent, and still not even the most captivating of souls could see him, Jack Frost knew how to have fun.

From some distance away, the sound of young laughter floated through the air as lightly as a snowfall. In spite of the leafy trees' effort to muffle the sound, Jack's attention was caught immediately; if there was anything of the slightest amusement occurring, he wanted to be a part of it. Without fail, he flew off deeper into the forest, following the faint sound until he came across two young boys, each paired with a wooden sword and shield. First, Jack just observed, smiling every once in a while when one of the two did something silly. Somehow, he was reminded of himself. Although he'd had no childhood - nor any true friends at all, really - he felt that he could relate, as if there was a bit of himself in their happy spirits.

The eldest boy feigned a maniacal laugh, cornering the younger against a rock and knocking away the wooden sword. "And now I will defeat you for all time! You will never rise from your-"

"Yes I will!" the younger protested, surprising his friend by advancing forward. "Because I'm a wizard, and I'm going to blow you away with my powers!"

The boy then whirled his arms around, a brave glare weighing on his brow. It was here that Jack saw an opportunity. Nothing happened when the boy thrust his arms out - which, of course, was to be expected by both of them. Neither child could have been more surprised, though, when Jack summoned a massive wind and blew the cold force over them.

"Did you see that?" the youngest screamed, hopping in excitement. "Did you see it? I made the wind blow!"

"How did you do it? Do it again!"

"I told you I'm a wizard! Now run - run for your life!"

Jack kept a close distance as the two took off running, shouting battle cries and squealing over the chilling gale that was at their expense. Although it was the children's laughter that rang through the air, Jack felt certain that he was having as much fun (if not more fun) than they were. All laughter stopped, however, when the boys stumbled across a rocky area with scattered boulders that seemed to block out the sun in a way that was almost unnatural.

"What's that?" the younger gasped, clinging to his brother's side.

The eldest, clearly concerned as well, swallowed. "It's nothing out of the ordinary, Tim."

"But I feel scared."

"Look, l-let's just go."

As they backed away, a spine-chilling hiss rose up from the darkness, seeming to grow with magnitude as all three pairs of eyes widened in fear. The boys turned and ran, but Jack stayed behind. Dropping to the unusually cold ground, he put one foot in front of the other and forced himself towards the horrible sight. As he stepped closer he was filled with the tremendous anxiety that he had felt only a couple of weeks ago. The longer he withstood it, the more difficult it was for him to bear. Suddenly a scream so wretched that it seemed real erupted in the violated barriers of his mind, and images of fire and ashes seemed to fog his view.

"Rapunzel!" he gasped, breaking out of the trance and leaving the darkness behind. He'd lost track of time. What he had just experienced had been terrible, but he'd sworn to come back and check on the tower, and now with the morbid visions he felt almost certain that something had gone wrong. Calling the wind to his aid, Jack leapt into the air and into the forceful current. If something were to happen to Rapunzel, it would be entirely on his shoulders. He couldn't bear that guilt.

From a distance, the tower looked at peace - but Jack wasn't ready to let his guard down yet. Indeed, when he swooped through the open window he found that smoke had overtaken the room, filling even the tiniest cracks in the walls with its poison. The toxic cloud was thick, impairing his vision; the only direction that he knew to go was up - up to Rapunzel's room where she was still asleep.

"Rapunzel!" he called as he tried to find his way. With little success, he flew higher at a frantic pace, bumping his head on what he thought was the ceiling, but quickly realized was the bottom of the upper floor. With no time to spare, he hoisted himself up and thanked the Man in the Moon that the air up here was clearer. As he'd expected, Rapunzel was asleep in her bed with absolutely no idea that her demise awaited hungrily outside the door. "Rapunzel! Wake up!"

He knew that she couldn't hear him, but he needed to save her, lest he sit here and watch her burn to death.

"Punz..." he croaked more weakly, coughing as the contaminated air began to fill his lungs. "Come on!"

What was he to do? How could he possibly save her life when he had no means of waking her to put out the fire? It was an unfair advantage to most things, being Jack Frost, but this was by far the most rotten aspect of life that he'd ever experienced. The one open window in the tower wasn't enough to let the smoke escape; soon they would both suffocate and the flames would spread further than the oven.

_The flames, though… I don't need to wake Rapunzel if I can just stop the flames. And what better to put out flames than a little cold, watery snow?_

* * *

Rapunzel awoke in a fright. The feelings of "dazed" and "confused" were present, but strongly overshadowed by the unsettling certainty that something was wrong. She sat up and swung her legs over the bed, breaking free of her serious thoughts just long enough to wonder if she would ever grow tall enough to reach her feet to the floor. Taking a gentle hop down, Rapunzel looked about the room. Things seemed to be in order; everything looked normal - there was, however, a very odd smell…

The cake! she remembered, everything suddenly falling into place. Full of urgency, she dashed to her bedroom door, yanking along her golden locks with her. The stairway seemed to extend in length simply to daunt her as she hurried to what was certainly a charred mess. She expected a fiery disaster, but found something quite peculiar in its place. Before she had the chance to further investigate, a cry rang through the air.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

With reluctance Rapunzel let go of her curiosity and pulled her mother up into the tower room. After a quick hug, her mother paused and took a long _sniff_. Feeling, for some reason, as if she had something to hide, Rapunzel backed away towards what should have been a delicious cake.

"Rapunzel, what _is _that stench?"

"I was - I was baking, Mother," she stammered guiltily, cracking a small smile in the corner of her mouth.

Her mother's face softened. "Oh, darling, you have so many _other _talents. Perhaps from now on we should stick to those, hm? Yes, very good. Luckily for you, I brought home a hearty dinner for us both."

Rapunzel didn't move. She stood close to the fireplace-oven, still guarding it with her body and wanting to know more about what exactly had happened.

"Well, come along, dear," her mother urged. "Let's not waste our time together."

She nodded to her mother, but took one careful glance over her shoulder. It was clear that there had been ashes and smoke - the wall was stained by them - but they were covered up by some odd layers of ice and water. The cake itself was completely frozen over. As Rapunzel turned and walked away to her mother, she felt sure that the area itself felt strangely cold.

"Coming, Mother."

* * *

Satisfied with his day's work, Jack decided that it was time to go. What he could use now, more than ever, was a good night's sleep. Today had been more than interesting - and far more than terrifying. It seemed that he had gotten hardly a moment of peace - but for those brief moments, he was thankful.

The cool wind whispered against his neck as he lingered at the window, putting off his goodbyes as always. He always felt the need to stay just a second longer; he had to be sure that things were well with Rapunzel before he left her. Things seemed just fine tonight - perhaps it was just his relief that he'd been able to put out the fire, but even Gothel seemed more pleasant. The two chatted about the usual things, Rapunzel sang, and the tower grew quieter; there was really no reason to stay now, so Jack turned and hopped from the window, intent on finding a comfy tree to sleep in. However, as his feet familiarized themselves with the prickly grass on the ground, he was reunited for a third time with intense discomfort. Immediately he could sense another presence - that same darkness that seemed determined to catch him wherever he went. Aggravated by the feeling of his own fear, Jack held out his staff defensively, pivoting to assess the perimeter. The darkness closed in on him with pressure so heavy that he could feel it on his skin - so thick that when he whirled around the tower not five feet away was no longer visible. Even the moon was engulfed.

"What are you?" he screamed, swinging his staff futilely. As if in response, thousands of horrid images flooded into his head. He could suddenly feel the chill of every human who had passed through him, and the sickening nausea followed, bringing him to his knees. Every suffocating moment of loneliness and pain returned to his wounded heart. When the first images of Rapunzel showed themselves, he felt comfort as if she might save him. Even in his visions, though, she couldn't see him; she walked right by as if unaware of his agony. More terrible, though, was the place to which she was walking. Jack couldn't clearly make out the location, but one thing was certain to him: she would die. Reliving today's events, he began shouting to her in hopes of preserving her precious life, but again she did not hear him. "No!"

And then, as if it had never happened, the terror was gone. The brightness of the moon had now returned, and Jack found himself exactly where he had been standing before. Still feeling the anxiety of the situation, he glanced around uneasily. It seemed that the presence of unmistakable evil had gone away, and yet he still sensed that he was not alone. Slowly, he turned to face the world behind him.

"Hello there, Jack Frost."

* * *

**Hello, my beautiful readers! I know it's been a bit of a wait between updates here, but that's mostly to blame on Thanksgiving and time I had to spend with family ("had to spend" makes it sound like a bad thing... It wasn't, really). Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with how this chapter came out. Lots of important things happened here, obviously. Let's see if you guys can name them all. I'd say that there are four important things, _three_ that you all should definitely take notice of.**

**I also wanted to take a second to apologize for any grammatical mistakes. I've noticed when I look back at old chapters that there are a lot of errors, so I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that most of my writing is done between the hours of 1 and 3 AM, so grammar is...less obvious to me then, unfortunately. **

**Thank you for reading!  
xoxo ZuEra**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

With crawling skin Jack turned to the voice in the darkness, putting on his bravest face. What he saw did not bring him any comfort: two golden eyes stared back at him, glimmering like those of a wild cat in the darkness. However, they lay high in the air, towering over him and making him feel even smaller than he had in the first place.

Jack took a large swallow (hoping to down all of his fear) and raised his staff. "Who are you?"

The eyes moved closer to him, and Jack stepped backwards in spite of himself. When the figure stepped out into the moonlight, he felt a sliver of relief; this thing resembled a normal man.

"Pitch Black," he bowed (and Jack observed that this strange thing even had the manners of a normal man), "at your service."

"Pitch Black," Jack repeated, letting out a scoff. "Well that's...cute."

"I'm quite fond of it myself," the tall man replied, smirking malevolently, "but I'm sure it wouldn't have been as darling to you had I announced myself just moments ago, hm?"

"You told me your name," Jack said, narrowing his eyes, "but you didn't tell me who you are. What - what do you want with me?"

What could anyone possibly want with him? He'd never interacted with anyone - anything - before in his life. Sure, he'd heard rumors of others like himself in the villages, but never had he actually come across someone like him. Now, of course, he was beginning to wish that was still true. This man, Pitch Black, was narrow and tall. Although he was clearly something of a man, he seemed so much more angular - so much sharper than any human that Jack had seen. And he possessed powers - powers that Jack couldn't wrap his mind around. Just standing in his presence made Jack feel uneasy. Pitch, however, seemed quite comfortable.

The taller spirit laughed. "What do _I _want with _you_? Hm, yes, isn't that an excellent question? Since you're feeling so confused, my friend, why don't we start over?"

"I'm not your friend," Jack grumbled, not wanting there to be any mistake about it. Pitch just ignored him.

"My name is Pitch Black, but perhaps it is my title that you would know me by. What is it that the humans like to call me? Ah, yes. _The Boogie Man_. Not the most charming of titles, I'll admit - but then again, I was never fond of charming things anyway."

_The Boogie Man_, yes, that did ring a bell. This must be the man that children were so afraid of at night. They would cry to their mothers that the Boogie Man was under their bed trying to get them. Jack had never believed him to be real; the mothers always said that he was just imaginary.

"And yes, I confess, I have been following you around a bit - poking my nose where it doesn't belong. I can't help myself; I'm just such a curious soul," Pitch went on. "I'm sure that you've taken notice of my abilities. Nothing to brag about, really; just a natural talent that I've always seemed to have, the nightmares and terrors. There's just something so exhilarating about _fear_. I love it."

"Yeah? Well nobody else does."

"Nor do they enjoy snowstorms in late August, Jack, but has that ever stopped you? Fellows like us, we have to survive too. There's nothing wrong with a little fun, hm?"

"My kind of fun doesn't cause suffering," Jack said spitefully. He didn't like being compared to this guy.

"Alright," Pitch smiled, his demeanour softening. "I apologize for what I've been doing, Jack. You can't blame me for wanting to put on a little show before I got acquainted with you."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"After all," Pitch's smile faded. "I have to let you know just who you're dealing with."

Sensing grave danger in this strange shadow of a man, Jack swung out his staff and lurched forward. "I don't think you know who _you're _dealing with!"

Pitch dodged the frosty attack with ease, gripping the staff. "Slow down, there, Jack. There's no need to be so hostile; I wasn't really going to hurt you, after all."

"I'm not buying it," Jack said, yanking his staff out of Pitch's spindly fingers.

"Come now, I was just joking with you. Can't we just be friends?"

"I already told you; no. I'm not interested in talking to - to the likes of you. I'm not interested in talking to someone who does what you do."

_I'm not interested in talking._

Never did Jack dream that he would say something like that. He'd always felt that if someone should ever somehow be able to see him, he would sit for hours just conversing and laughing about anything and everything. Here he was, though, telling this Pitch Black to go away - and he meant it.

Pitch put his hand over his heart. "Well, I'm hurt. The likes of me? I suppose this all makes sense; after all, you've got such high social standards - with all those friends of yours, who could have time for dear, sweet Pitch Black?"

"Goodbye," Jack said sternly, turning on his heel and walking away with pride. He didn't need that Pitch Black.

"Mind these words, Jack Frost," Pitch called after him. "I'm _sure _that we will meet again."

Jack glanced over his shoulder in time to spot Pitch's gesture and feel one final, fearful chill. Then he was truly alone.

Although only seconds ago he felt that he might sleep right where he stood, he now felt wide awake. The subtle light of the moon was enough to keep his lids peeled back, no longer heavy with sleepiness. No, he'd rather go for a walk - he'd rather fly, swim, dance; anything but sleep. His feet dragged with each step, but his mind was sharp and alert. And his heart? It felt empty. With no real sense of what was making him feel so low, he wandered about the forest (and his thoughts wandered as well).

He felt alone. Well of course he was alone - he was always alone - but this felt different. It felt bitter and unfair, as if he'd been cheated out of something good. The smallest spark of deprived anger began to boil in his chest - alongside its companions, lonely and misplaced. He thought about it. He thought about it until he understood where all of this was coming from. He thought about it until he was miserable over the fact that his first communication with any other soul had not been with someone worth his while - it had not been with someone with whom he could go back and think fondly of the situation. Then he thought about Rapunzel - _Punz_: the lively spirit that he had grown so accustomed to seeing. Why not her? If anyone was to see him, why not her? They could have the most lovely conversations - do the most fun things. If only she could see him.

_This is just Pitch_, he realized in vain. _He's just trying to get one last scare in._

It didn't matter that he'd figured it out, though, because Pitch had succeed; Rapunzel would never see him, and Jack felt very frightened.

* * *

Rapunzel rolled onto her back. At this point, there was no use in trying to sleep. Her mind was racing with curiosity that trailed down the stairs to the remains of her cake. It should have been completely charred - in fact, from what she had seen, it _was _charred, but somehow frozen. Such a thing wouldn't have made sense even in December, let alone late May. Pascal, who had kindly stayed awake with her, seemed to think it'd be a good idea to go down and investigate more. True, she hadn't gotten a good look at it before, but it would be of no use to check now.

"It's probably melted by now," she whispered, careful not to wake her mother in the next room. Like Pascal, though, she was desperate for a solution; it wasn't often that strange things such as this happened - not often at all. Most things she could make sense of; she had a few helpful books at her expense that had lent her a hand many a time. This, however - this wasn't in her books; she'd checked as soon as she was sure that her mother was asleep. Pairing her frustration with determination, she propped herself on her elbows. "There's got to be something…"

His face lighting up with an idea, Pascal scampered to the small desk tucked in the room's corner. On it sat a thick book - a book that Mother said was older than both of their ages combined. Rapunzel had always taken a special pleasure in this book with it's magical fantasies and happy endings. In fact, she had opened it up just last night. Now, though, she didn't feel like reading it.

"Those fairytales won't help," she sighed. "I need a solid explanation, not old stories."

Feeling that he was a failure, Pascal made his way back to Rapunzel's pillow. Petting him softly with her finger, her lips curled into a sad smile. "Mother says there's no real magic in the world - none besides me, at least."

The thought was depressing to her. For so long, that book of stories had been a spark of hope to her lonely word. She'd been able to imagine wondrous things - beautiful, _beautiful _things. She'd imagined that a happy ending was possible, even behind the stone walls of a hidden tower. The day that she'd made the mistake of sharing her dreams with Gothel was the day that she stopped looking at the book for an escape.

"_You seem to love that book very much, Flower."_

"_I do. Maybe it's silly, but it makes me feel like I could be a princess too."_

"_No," her mother said suddenly, walking over and closing the book. "You mustn't be so hopeful, Rapunzel. These stories are nothing but that: stories. Read them all you like, but don't set yourself up for the disappointment that will come if you actually believe in them."_

So Rapunzel stopped believing in them.

Truth be told, it was foolish to think such things in the first place. As time went on, Rapunzel began to think that her mother was right to stop her beliefs; what Prince Charming would ever come to save her? She was neither a dishmaid, nor a tortured soul - and she was, unfortunately, in a tower where (if her mother's plans were effective - and they had been thus far) nobody would ever find her. So that was that; Rapunzel had ruled out any thoughts of princes - and until today, she had ruled out magic as well. What else, then, could it be when it wasn't in any of her science books? She'd hardly seen the phenomenon, though, so perhaps there was a logical reason behind this ordeal.

"Maybe just a quick look," she gave in, scooping up Pascal and sneaking to her bedroom door. A floorboard creaked beneath her weight. "We'll have to be quiet, though."

The last thing that she wanted was to wake her mother up. That would lead to pressing questions of what Rapunzel was doing out of bed at this late hour, what was important enough to disrupt her mother's beauty sleep, and what kind of secrets Rapunzel thought she was keeping. No, that was the last thing that she wanted, so she carried on carefully, slipping out the door with a final glance over her shoulder.

"And just where do you think you're going?" asked the interrogative voice of her mother just as Rapunzel walked into her chest.

"Uhh-"

"You're not very stealthy, my dear," Mother wagged her finger.

Rapunzel shoved Pascal into the long sleeve of her nightgown to hide him from her mother, knowing that the two had never properly met (and probably never would). "I just couldn't sleep, that's all."

"Yes, and I'm sure getting up and wandering about would cure you of your insomnia; forget closing your eyes and relaxing," her mother said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you keeping something from me, love?"

Rapunzel melted into a warm hug. "Of course not. You're right, though; I should just get back to bed."

Gothel, at first, was content with Rapunzel's words, but her gaze then softened. "Is there something you'd like to talk about?"

Rapunzel chewed on that thought for a moment, considering what it might mean to tell her mother exactly what was bothering her. It didn't seem plausible that she would even begin to understand - that, or she might take it far too seriously and vanquish what freedom Rapunzel had in the tower out of fear. Rapunzel wasn't afraid of the frosty coating she'd discovered - not really. More than anything she was curious and confused by it. What had she done to cause such a thing - or had it not been her fault at all? Perhaps there was someone else to blame entirely. Once again, she quickly ruled out that option; nobody ever came to her tower, and should someone have stumbled across it, why would they have put out a fire and left without waking her? No, it must have been something that she had done.

"Just how tired I am," Rapunzel giggled. "We should both go get some sleep."

"Very well, Flower. Goodnight."

Returning to her chambers, Rapunzel knew that she had no choice but to be quiet and go to sleep. Clearly her mother wasn't going to allow any sneaking about tonight. It seemed a shame, though, because by morning any evidence would be long gone. With a small sigh, she tried to accept the reality that she might never discover the truth behind the strange ice - another potential adventure laid to rest.

* * *

**A shorter chapter here, but it came so easily to me (: Pitch and Jack interactions are so fun to write. Congrats to those of you who knew from the start that it was Pitch behind all of this (although I can't say it was ever meant to be a secret XD). I also may or may not have sneaked in a Once Upon a Time reference on accident...oops! I just started watching that show (from the very beginning :O) a few weeks ago, so I'm a wee bit obsessed. That's why Gothel suddenly became Regina, and Punz is...Henry? (Oh Rapunzel, when will you realize that YOU are a fairytale character - except...that's not the plot of this story XD).**

**I just want to take a minute to thank those of you who have reviewed. It means so much to me, and you all speak so kindly of my work (: The reviews for last chapter were especially nice, and it just warmed my heart so I had to say something.**

**ALSO! I wanted to let you guys know that I have opened up my tumblr blog for Jackunzel and Mericcup fanfiction prompts! These would just be short, drabble-esque stories involving two of my all-time favorite ships. Just go to my mailbox and submit your prompt; I haven't had much business yet, so I should be able to get to everyone's prompts fairly quick (: My tumblr is:**

**thegrimzuera**

**Just go ahead and insert that into the url (since doesn't allow links to other sites :P). I hope to hear from you all!**

**xoxo ZuEra**


	6. Chapter 6

_._

_Games that never amount to more than they're meant will play themselves out._

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Would you stop that?" Jack growled against the wind. "I haven't done anything interesting in weeks!"

When he woke this morning, Jack had made the decision that it was a good day to leave the area to find a new town or city. Not permanently, of course (which he'd tried to point out to his stubborn friend), but just for the day. He hated to admit it, but his growing attachment to Rapunzel was interfering with his usual lifestyle. While he used to travel from place to place with ease, he now found the interest in doing such a thing lessening. In fact, it had been nearly two months since he'd traveled more than a few miles away from the tower; he was beginning to get bored with the nearby town. The realization of these changes was more than alarming to him, and it was the catalyst that brought on this decision.

It really shouldn't have been a big deal, Jack thought irritably. He didn't intend on leaving for an extended period of time (another alarming thought; he was actually coming _back _with a purpose). The wind neither listened to nor cared about his reasoning, though. It must have had reasons of its own.

"Why are you fighting me on this? It's not like she's going to miss me or anything," he said bitterly.

That may also have factored into his decision to leave. As much as he enjoyed being around Rapunzel, being around her was becoming a downer as of late. Ever since his meeting with Pitch, Jack had been extremely aware of the fact that Rapunzel couldn't see him - painfully aware. While the effects of Pitch's powers had long since worn off, the truth of the fears remained, and Jack simply couldn't ignore it. The discouraging thoughts were a bit overwhelming. From day one, he'd expected such feelings to come to him, but for so long they never did. For so long, being around Rapunzel had brought him nothing but happiness. Things were different lately, though; his love for being around her was increasing, and yet so was his misery. It didn't make sense at all.

The wind howled louder and longer, threatening to take all control and toss him into the trees if he didn't cooperate. Jack needed this day away, though; he needed to clear his head so that maybe - just maybe - things could go back to normal again. Clearly it wasn't healthy for him to stay in one place for so long.

"Look," he called, "I promise that I'll go back. I know that a promise from me might not mean much to you, but you're just going to have to trust me. I'm leaving, and then I'm coming back."

The wind settled, bringing a smile to Jack's face. With a nod of acknowledgement, he said "Thank you" and flew on. He was going somewhere new - and that was quite an accomplishment. Jack had been everywhere - from Arendelle to the beautiful cities in Scotland - and yet he had never stepped foot into the great kingdom of Corona. The kingdom wasn't a far trip from Rapunzel's tower - not by way of flying, at least - so it was surprising even to Jack that he had never been there before. It made sense, though, considering that this very area was new to him when he stumbled across the tower. Since that time he hadn't done much traveling at all aside from occasional trips to the small village nearby. Now as he flew farther and farther away, he could feel the familiar excitement building up inside of him, thirsting for adventure.

The city of Corona was like nothing he had ever seen before; he had spotted it on his first day to the area and vowed that it would be his next stop (surely, it had taken a while, but he'd kept his word). He hadn't realized as he glanced over the treetops that the kingdom was isolated on an island, but when he was at a closer distance it only thrilled him more. What a city: residents and traders scattered across the long bridge that connected the kingdom to the mainland; they chatted and traded and certainly, Jack thought, didn't realize how much they were taking advantage of this beautiful place. Why, if he could truly be a part of this city, Jack would make the best of it for sure. He wasn't even within the city grounds yet and he could tell that his time here would be well spent. By looking from half a mile away, he was already thinking up the many things that he would do.

What awaited him in the city was no disappointment. Corona's streets were longer and more filled than those of any other kingdom or village that he'd been to. The landscaping, alone, was satisfying. The streets wound completely around the island to surround the majestic castle in the center. With the elevation moving in and up, each street was at a different level only to be connected by small stairways that ran between buildings. Jack was so fascinated by these things that he surrendered his flying and walked around the city by foot. There were so many things to look at and smells to be taken in; he couldn't even keep up.

He'd first stumbled into a bakery, following the scent of freshly baked bread all the way to the wood stove (and getting run through by the busy baker in the process, but for once Jack didn't mind). After the bakery, he'd gone to the glass-blower's. There he had seen trinkets of extraordinary beauty be made right before his eyes. They had a magical feel about them, and they were most definitely expensive. He was now stuck in the marketplace, unable to bring himself to leave the bustling area. It must have been ten times the size of the market in any village, and at least twice the size of the one in Arendelle. He wondered how there were possibly enough merchants to fill the place - and then wondered how there were enough things for them to sell. Indeed, each vendor bore a different product, each product equally as interesting as its neighbor. In spite of the wide variety, it was a humble flower stand at the end of the street that caught his attention.

Although he'd seen many a flower stand before, Jack felt certain that these had to be the most beautiful, best smelling flowers in the land. It was at that moment that he thought of Rapunzel, cooped up in her tiny tower, and suddenly felt very remorseful. Rapunzel would never get to see these lovely things. She would never get the thrill of venturing into a new city, or chase the mouthwatering scents of sweet bread and cakes, or marvel at the tiny glass birds at the glass-blower's. She would never admire the perfume of newly picked flowers. She had probably never smelled flowers before at all.

Jack sighed deeply, the thick crowd around him seeming to vanish along with all of the fun he'd been having. He suddenly felt very hypocritical - like he'd betrayed Rapunzel by coming here today. Defeated by his guilt, Jack took a seat on the bottom step of a stairway near the stand, tucking himself as close to the wall as he could to avoid being stepped on. How could something as simple as flowers cause such great distress? Because it wasn't just the flowers; it was also Rapunzel.

There was only one logical solution, he decided, somehow he needed to get Rapunzel some flowers - or even just one. In an instant he had added to his decision: it had to be one of _these _flowers - the best flowers; the prettiest flowers. If she was only going to have one, he needed to make it worthwhile to her. The only problem was in getting the flower. He first took his time, slowly circling the cart to look at each flower carefully. No two were the same, all bearing their own bright hues and intricate shapes. Out of all the fiery reds and blushing pinks and sky-blues, one stood out to him more than the rest. A bright yellow flower sat in the middle of the large bouquet, nearly lost in all the noise of the other flowers. This one was not more extravagant than the others, nor was it bigger, nor the most unique. Still, it just screamed "Rapunzel". It screamed happiness and optimism. Most importantly, it seemed as fun and cheerful as Rapunzel was. Now having his eyes on the prey, he crept nearer to the cart and slowly reached out his fingers, grasping the stem and then scampering off as if someone would actually see him. Secluding himself to an almost-too-narrow alleyway between buildings, he took a moment to look at the flower. What he saw, though, was completely unexpected. He gasped as frost crawled across the stem, sprawling ruthlessly across the delicate petals until it engulfed them completely. Jack grimaced, looking at the frozen flower in his hand. Without fail, he had once again managed to ruin something beautiful. Of course this was worse because this beautiful thing hadn't been for himself, but for someone he cared about. He still wanted to give it to Rapunzel somehow, but he couldn't do it like this. Perhaps over time it would thaw out and return to its brilliant color. Until then, he would just have to store it somewhere. He couldn't trust the trees to hold it; without a doubt some animal would come and snatch it up. Beyond the trees, though, he didn't have much. With a shrug, he decided that the only place left to keep it was in the roomy pocket in his shirt (in the back of his mind, he acknowledged the fact that it would never melt in there, but he smiled because there was nothing else he could do about it).

Although the gift hadn't turned out exactly as he'd wanted, he still felt anxious to get back to the tower and plot out how he would give it to Rapunzel. This day in Corona had been fun, but now he was very much ready to leave. With a content smile on his face, he strolled through the streets towards the city gate, gazing at vendors and eavesdropping on conversations along the way. He heard talk of summer's approaching, of a city-wide celebration, and even of a beautiful lantern ceremony to take place at the castle itself. Surely, this had to be the more exciting city he'd ever visited. Maybe he'd even come back some day, should he find the time. For now, though, he had somewhere else to be. Having finally come to the long and narrow bridge that left the city, he thrust his staff to the ground, using its momentum to bound into the clear sky.

"Alright," he smiled to the wind, "You can stop worrying now. I'm ready to go home."

A hissing gasp escaped his lips; had he really just said…? Wide-eyed from utter disbelief, he flew incoherently until he reached the other side of the bridge and then dropped slowly to the ground on his knees. _Home_. Was that what Rapunzel's tower was to him now? Never had he even thought any place to be his home, and yet he had just spoken the word aloud.

"Home," he repeated in barely a whisper. "Home."

The word sent chills of both fright and comfort through his bones - fright because this was something new, and while he _lived _for new and adventurous things, this was something different entirely; this was the word that he had coveted and envied countless times, never expecting to truly possess it in his lifetime. Yet, there was also a warmth in the word for all of the same was everything that he wanted, right? A home - a placed that he belonged and felt happy. Rapunzel made him feel happy. Now all that he wanted to do was return and wait for the flower to thaw so that he could make her happy too.

He took off once again, but this time smiling wider than he had in a very long time. The wind carried him without effort has he spun and flipped and dove, laughing all the while. He felt very much like himself again - a better version of himself, a happier version. Never would he have guessed that, although he had felt quite determined this morning, he would come home completely changed, and yet completely himself. He never would have guessed that he would come _home _at all.

At that, Jack rolled lazily onto his back, wearing a smug expression. "See? I told you today was going to be good for me - _and_ I kept my promise. Have a little faith!"

Most of the way back was a daze filled with fun, laughter, and an unfortunate amount of icy trees (a product of his careless happiness). Should he have caused any trouble along the way, he decided that it could be dealt with later on. When the tower did finally come into view, Jack swooped down to the ground to take the rest of the trip on foot. It wasn't far, and he suddenly felt very thoughtful; walking always helped to stimulate his thoughts. How far he had come in the last couple of months. He had found a place of happiness; he had gained a home of all things. It was incredibly strange to think how different his life would have been had he not given into the wind's convincing plea to go to the tower; he couldn't even imagine. As he neared the place that had become home to him and think about the little flower in his pocket, his stomach began to flutter. He'd never had such a feeling before; he couldn't think of any explanation for it. It was nice, though - a good feeling - so he didn't push it away.

The funny smile that he was hardly aware of slowly deteriorated as he entered through the constantly open window. Even if he hadn't been equipped with ears to hear the conversation at hand, the mere energy of the room would have pointed to the fact that something was wrong. Both Rapunzel and Gothel were present, but they stood at an odd distance - not close enough for the false intimacy that Gothel typically showered her daughter with. Gothel was tense, her shoulders and joints as stiff as the stern glare in her eyes. Rapunzel was quite the opposite with her green eyes downcast and her small frame withdrawn. From the looks of it, the two had started off in much closer proximity, but one of them had walked away.

"I don't know _why _you would ask me such a thing," Gothel sighed, rubbing her temples. "And I especially don't know why you would ask me a second time."

"But, Mother, if you would just listen-"

"Listen? Ha!" Gothel feigned a laugh. "I don't have to listen, Rapunzel, because I already know."

Rapunzel's gaze drifted as she thought of her most convincing arguments. "But what if you-"

"Came with you? Please, dear, don't be ridiculous. What am I to do? I'm no trained guard; I could never protect you the way that you would need it. Why, going out there everyday - I can barely protect myself!"

Jack scoffed, knowing that Gothel did perfectly fine protecting herself - especially considering that there was nothing to be protected from. What exactly was Rapunzel asking?

"And even if I was a skilled warrior," she continued, "do you think I would have the ability to hide all of _that_?"

Jack's eyes followed the gesture at Rapunzel's long hair, spread about the tower floor. Rapunzel, too, couldn't help but do the same. Her hands flew to the strands closest to her face holding them nervously.

"Well, no," she said quietly, her voice plagued with hesitation. "I just - I really want this, Mother. Isn't there a way?"

There was a long moment of silence then. The expression on Gothel's face darkened and her hands clenched into fists. The only sound to be heard was her heavy footsteps trodding across the floor as she began to pace. Jack jumped at her abrupt stop; Rapunzel, who had kept a steady gaze toward the ground didn't seem startled at all, but looked up to meet her mother's eyes.

Gothel took a deep breath, impressively recreating a smile even through her obvious anger. "You are trying my patience, _Flower_. I am your mother. I am the woman who has protected you from the sick and hateful world for your entire life. Don't you think that I would know best?"

With every word Gothel's smiler grew fainter and her tone sharper and louder. Jack could feel the tension in the air as thick as ice. He didn't want to believe that Gothel would ever hurt Rapunzel, but he couldn't help but feel worried.

"I _do_ know best, and yet you continue to question me? How many times must I say no, Rapunzel? Do you not appreciate all that I do for you? Do you wish to make me ill? Let's get something straight, dear: you will not change my mind; not now, not ever! You are _not _leaving this tower!" she boomed, slashing her hand in front of her for emphasis. For a moment, all was still. It was as if Gothel expected Rapunzel to fight back, but she didn't.

With teary eyes, Rapunzel choked out her final reply. "I'm sorry for asking, Mother."

Before Gothel could reply, Rapunzel was darting up the stairs to her room. Jack waited for only a moment to watch what Gothel would do. She took one step after her daughter, but then hesitated, and finally faltered. For just a few seconds, she closed her eyes and almost looked guilty. Then, she turned to the window and took hold of the golden hair still attached it. With one last sigh, she left the tower. Not to be put off by Gothel, Jack raced up to Rapunzel's room. He stopped in the doorway, looking inside. In a heap of hair and blankets, she lay crying on her bed. He had never seen her cry before; the sight made his heart swell mournfully.

"Punz…? Oh, come on, Punz," he said softly. "Please don't cry."

With only a fraction of a debate, he decided to overstep the line that he had drawn for himself and enter into the room. If there was anything that he could do, it wouldn't happen from out there. He neared the bed, still keeping his proper distance.

"I don't know what happened out there, but it'll be okay," he assured her. "I promise, it'll all be fine soon."

She looked so delicate here; for some reason, he wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her - to run his fingers through her hair and comfort her. He knew, though, that there was no such option. Not yet ready to give up his urge to help, he knelt down by the bed, resting his arms and head on the cushioned structure. With her face buried in her arms he couldn't see her, but he looked anyway, feeling sure that somehow a solution would come. He ended up getting lost in her, consumed in his own thoughts of how unfair it was that she should be crying like this. He had been right to worry about her today; she was, indeed, miserable in this tower and feeling the pains of missing out on everything that life had to offer. Maybe he shouldn't have left in the first place. Maybe this was why the wind had wanted him to stay. He wondered if somehow he could have prevented all of this had he been here. It was a foolish thought, really, because he could do nothing to effect Rapunzel's life or well-being. At that, he frowned. The fluttering in his stomach had long-since disappeared, but it was now replaced by an aching heart.

"Punz," he whispered. "How am I supposed to help you? I - I know things feel bad right now, and I know you think that you're all alone, but you're not. You're not as alone as you think that you are."

Over the next few minutes, her muffled sobs quieted until they stopped completely. She rolled onto her side, her arms no longer shielding her face. He had thought it would feel better if he could only see her pretty eyes, but he had been very wrong. They were red, and still filled with tears and pain. Worse yet, they were looking right into his own eyes. He sat and stared, taking in the reality that even though he was right here, she couldn't see him. The look in her eyes was so deep, so lonely and hurt. He wanted to help her; he wanted to fix this; he wanted her to realize that she was looking right at him.

"You're not alone," he said again, closing his eyes when he couldn't take it anymore. "I'm right here."

* * *

Rapunzel had, eventually, stopped crying, and not a moment too soon because Jack was sure that his heart would have exploded if he had stayed any longer. Once he was sure that she was okay, he fled from the tower, deep into the forest. Then, he made it his mission to find the biggest, bulkiest, loneliest tree and sulk in it. Here he was now (in the biggest, bulkiest, loneliest tree), playing the part he had cast for himself. Between his fingers, he twirled the stolen flower, now crisp from frost. Although he had been looking at it for quite some time, it was the last thing that was truly on his mind. His thoughts were left behind at the tower, still wrapped up in Rapunzel's sadness.

He hadn't been able to help her. As much as he wanted to, he was unable to do anything at all. Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to leave her alone in such a state, so he'd forced himself to sit and watch the entire ordeal - and for what? He'd made no difference. His presence hadn't made her feel better in the least. He'd at first felt guilty for leaving this morning, but he now realized that such worries were pointless. Even if he had been there, the events would have played out the same way. Everything that was to happen in Rapunzel's life would happen with or without Jack. If she stayed in that tower forever with her wicked mother he could do nothing about it, and if she somehow broke free (he very much hoped that she would), he would have no part in it.

_Now what kind of a home is that?_

Jack cursed the thought, but it left him wondering if he had just been fooling himself this entire time. He'd been waltzing about the tower, talking to Rapunzel and pretending that he had a place there, but did he really? Was it really a home when the people he cared about couldn't see nor hear him? Was it a home when he couldn't help Rapunzel in the slightest way? Was it _really_ a home when his presence made no difference whatsoever? They were trying questions - ones that he didn't prefer to answer, and yet ones that he couldn't just ignore.

Most of the time, he felt at home - truly at home. Wasn't home a place that made you feel warm and happy? He certainly felt that around Rapunzel. When he wasn't thinking about the fact that she would probably never know his name, he felt happy enough to float (and he often did). It was all incredibly confusing; how could a place be so wonderful that he called it "home" cause him so much misery that he doubted the statement altogether?

"It's unfair," he muttered, clenching his teeth but being careful to guard the fragile flower in his hand. He smiled down on it in spite of himself. "I guess I brought you here for a reason, though, didn't I?"

If nothing else, that flower was proof that somehow Jack belonged here - with Rapunzel. He'd never gone to such great lengths for anyone before; he'd never stayed around to get to know someone. For those first few weeks he had tried desperately to believe that he didn't care for the girl one bit, but here he was now with an aching heart caused by how much he really did care. Jack had never met anyone more contradictory than himself. With so many different choices, there was only one true question: what was he to do now? It didn't take much thought, in spite of the whirlwind of feelings in his heart; he had to buck up and go back, even if just for a few minutes. It would ease his mind a bit (and if he didn't go back now, he feared that he never would out of his own foolishness). So - although he did have to drag himself a bit - Jack made his way back to the tower. He returned to find that Gothel, too, was back. It appeared that she had gone out and bought Rapunzel a small present to make up for their argument - a new drawing tablet and some pencils. Whether or not she had apologized Jack could not be sure. At any rate, Rapunzel seemed to be doing well enough. She was at least half the perky, energetic girl that he knew, which was a relief to him. The way she had been before, he felt worried that she'd never return to her usual self (but then, Jack had very little experience with such emotions). This was certainly an eye-opener for him; although she seemed very sure of herself, clearly Rapunzel was more than he had thought. Like Jack, himself, she had many sides, many feelings. Considering the feelings that today's events had brought on, he couldn't decide whether this was a good or bad thing. One thing was for certain, though: Jack was fine today - he had made it through - but a tiny hole had been pierced in his heart; he could feel it. Now would the size of that hole grow? Jack wasn't sure, but he hoped it would not. If it were to grow, he didn't know how he could handle it - or if he would be able to at all.

* * *

**So many things to say! But I want to start off first by saying thank you - thank you all so much. Thank you especially to those of you who reviewed! I got an amazing response to the last chapter, and I just wanted to let you all know how I appreciate you. Every follow, every favorite, every review makes me so happy.**

**IMPORTANT: We've entered a new section of the story here, which is why I've put up a new song lyric. It's up to you to interpret it, but of course you'll find out soon enough. The story so far as been a lot of introduction, a lot of set-up, and a lot of potential questions being asked. It's at this point that Jack and Rapunzel will begin to address these things. The lyrics come from "Falling Slowly", a beautiful song from the movie Once. I, obviously, do not own that beautiful song, nor do I own the movie (disclaimer).**

**Also, I hope you all enjoyed the confrontation between Gothel and Punz. It basically came out as a darker, spoken veresion of Mother Knows Best XD It had to happen eventually. No way Punz wouldn't ask to see the lights.**

**Lastly, what are your thoughts on Jack's feelings? At this point, he's quite confused as to what he's feeling at all. I think it's safe to say that he's never felt this way before and doesn't really understand...yet (; **

**(WHOOPS I lied! LASTLY this is my longest chapter yet :D I had to make sure of that since the last chapter was so pathetically short XD)**

**Thank you all!  
xoxo ZuEra **


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